Isaiah_58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
I've been looking at many of the news reports and the things that are happening in this world, and early this morning just before waking I had a very vivid dream.
I do not remember the exact details of the dream except that it was chaotic and very unsettling, much fighting, unrest, people rioting, running, and my own thoughts and feelings while in this dream were unsettled and chaotic, I was completely in it, part of the problems, terrified, not wanting these things to happen but helpless to stop it. I awoke for a moment, my thoughts turned to Jesus "Help me to know what to do" was my inward prayer, and then went back to sleep. I returned to that scene in the dream and again I saw the chaos and fighting, but was being drawn up from it, sensing that those whose hearts were of this world would destroy themselves and each other taking each other down, but those who are of the Lord will be lifted up, not part of the mess, and it then turned my thoughts to death and resurrection and the different experience that will be had by those who die loving this world more than God and those who die and are truly looking to God, Jesus, our all in all. In the dream it felt like angels were pulling me up and keeping me standing, and it might be that I died in the dream at that point and was being lifted off the earth. It seemed like the images of "the rapture" in a way, yet not really that, almost that.
It again reminded me that we who are in Christ are "in the world but not of the world", and that when we are absent from the body (when we physically die) we will be present with the Lord. Very comforting thoughts while seeing all of the world's chaotic problems.
John 16:32-33 (ESV) Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Matthew 10:11-15 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
There is someone that I've been carrying a burden over for a couple of years now, somehow I feel responsible for her having turned away from Jesus as those in the gospel of John turned away from Him after following Him, seeking blessings and miracles and signs, and He confronted their shallowness, and instead of being humbled by it and asking forgiveness, they turned and walked away from Him, never to follow Him again (see John chapter 6, and particularly that fateful moment of turning away at verse 66)
I know there will be those that won't humble themselves to the truth, if they humble themselves, it is to look "good" to others who may be watching them, so they can get kudos for their "goodness" and "humility"....much like the Pharisees did while Jesus walked on earth. I tend to want to help them see the error of their way. Maybe if I word it just right they will see, then they will understand....but am I better than the Holy Spirit? Can my flesh improve on the truth of God's word as He convicts their hearts causing a reaction that the Holy Spirit was unable to achieve without my helpful assistance?
Well....I got told today to listen and obey my Bible and shake the dust off my feet and leave...a blunt way of telling me to take a hike....and she is right, of course, that is what I'm supposed to do. Being told by her to do so I take as a final call, the curtain has dropped on her performance where my interaction with it is concerned...we are completely done, and whether she ever turns to the Lord in repentance or, like the John chapter 6 people, never does, I will not know, it isn't for me to know. It isn't for me to try to change the outcome. I have been told to leave it alone.
Yes, of course that is true, and the world is offended by the Truth because the world rejects Jesus...however, I don't want to do talk about the Truth, about Jesus, just to be offensive, to prove anything to Him, or to the world, or to my friends. We are to tell the truth, and the truth will offend, but the truth also cuts both ways. What others are guilty of I am also guilty of. When others reject Jesus, I also have rejected Jesus. When others "get it wrong" I have and still do also get it wrong. So does that mean I should not say anything, to anyone, about everything??? I would have to be a mute in order to be able to accomplish that. No, evil triumphs when "good people" say and do nothing. The Bible says "none are good" except God, so does that mean I should shut up because I am not good, only God is good after all, and He can handle His own business without my interference. Except He has also said that whoever is ashamed of Him He will be ashamed of when we meet Him...and if I never talk about Him wouldn't it be because I am ashamed to do so? As much as I talk about Jesus, that isn't going to be my problem, mine is the opposite. I just don't want to give up, it feels like giving up, and my stubborn Dutch blood won't let it happen.
Yet I can take a hint...especially when it is delivered with a sledge hammer. "Why don't you do what the Bible tells you to do and shake the dust off your feet!?"....not a very subtle suggestion, eh? An instruction that I can follow, in the Lord's strength....not kicking dust in her face, just shaking off the remnants of any bad feelings I may have regarding the whole situation, and leaving it with the Lord, for Him to deal with perfectly, in His time.
A few months ago a "used to be fellow blogger" posted about a death in the family, and that her family tragedy is further proof to her for the non-existence of God. It was a very blahzay blogpost that went on about how it doesn't matter anymore, she's not angry, not upset, not anything... nothing but "oh well, life goes on for absolutely no purpose whatsoever, and I'm so glad I discovered that....I'm so smart!"
Last night, watching The Gaithers, they showcased a family, the Feeks. The husband and wife (Joey and Rory) sing gospel songs and of course it showed them singing on the show, and they held and showed off their baby Indiana. They talked about the recent event in their lives, Joey's cancer, and their battle (chemo, surgery, more chemo) to fight the disease. Joey looked frail and thin yet at peace. She talked about her chats with hospital staff, that she was believing God for a miracle of healing, ALTHOUGH if it was His decision that her time on earth was done, she knew that His plans for her are much better than anything she could dream up for herself. The hospital staff, she said, told her how she inspired them through their smaller struggles, and gave them hope to keep trusting in Jesus's better plans for those who love Him.
Last night I thought about the contrast of the two stories that the above mentioned situations tell. It made me sad for the people in that former situation, and that the second inspires me in all of what Joey is going through God is working out His better plans, no matter what anyone wants to believe or not believe.
I hope and pray that the Lord will bless everyone that reads this, and I also hope you will join me and many others in praying for Joey and her family, and that He gives you the peace that surpasses understanding.
Often I think "I should post something on my blog..." and get sidetracked, like I often do, laundry, dishes, going to the post office, getting a few groceries, etc. The reason I began this blog was to put down my private musings and make them public. Perhaps there are others who likewise struggle with all kinds of things that this world presents us with, and likewise cannot make heads or tails out of any of it...well maybe that is too pessimistic, some of it does eventually sort itself out, or it drops out of my consciousness because eventually I come decide it didn't really matter as much as I thought it did after all.
Some of my recent mental wranglings have been over gun ownership vs. gun control, legalism vs. God's grace, Judaism vs. antisemitism, and whether or not to celebrate (Christmas) ... and of course in Christ, if we truly are in Christ there certainly is a measure of freedom in these areas, and yet there is a "right way and a wrong way" in all these things. Since it is so close to Christmas, please permit me, dear reader, to go there, to the topic of Christmas ....
There is so much debating (is that too soft? bantering? bickering? fighting???) on this issue, and truly the way the debates have been going makes me believe more strongly that we indeed are in the very last days prior to the Lord's returning, because there is much confusion and mistrust these days...
One side says Christmas is PAGAN so to even give it a kind nod is going against everything God stands for. It is EVIL!!! Throw it out, mistletoe, Christmas trees, Santas and even Baby Jesus because Jesus wasn't born on December 25th anyway....and the MAS in Christmas points to Catholicism and false worship...
Another side says we should worship and celebrate Jesus incarnation every day, even December 25th regardless of whether that was the day of His birth or not...what's the harm? And these days with so many wanting to reject anything with Jesus in it, isn't it proper, and even more... critical...that we keep the CHRIST in Christmas?
I think you might perceive that I tend toward the second position, although I see no need to have a dead Christmas tree in our home nor statues of Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, etc decorating our home. I'm conflicted about seeing nativities in public places because although I enjoy the reminder of the Bible account of His birth, I don't find support for having idols to His image as needful. I appreciate the Christmas cards and well wishes they bestow on us, and do have them in the living room prominently displayed during this season, and think on the senders when I look at them there.
I agree with the Apostle Paul that we need to be convinced in our own conscience, seek out all the facts about Christmas, why early Christians desired to set one day aside to celebrate Jesus' birth, seek out why some (many?) are so adamantly opposed to the celebrating of Christmas...and then decide for yourself, not so you can beat others over the head for their incorrect celebrating or not celebrating, but so that you can honor the Prince of Peace peacefully in this, and in all things.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
For people will be
lovers of self,
lovers of money,
proud,
arrogant,
abusive,
disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful,
unholy,
heartless,
unappeasable,
slanderous,
without self-control,
brutal,
not loving
good,
treacherous,
reckless,
swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having the appearance of godliness,
but denying its power.
Avoid such people.
Recently I saw a clever quote on Facebook meant to encourage those who have been rejected by someone. It stated that these persons who would leave you were just garbage anyway and they helped you by taking the garbage (themselves) out. The above list reminds me of the "garbage" that we don't need in our lives and are better without. Doesn't it read like a list of things you see and hear about on the evening news every night?
The one that seems the most innocuous and may actually be the most deadly is the "having a form of godliness but denying His power". It's so easy to think that a "religious person" is a good person. There are many (I believe) that are so religious, so seemingly good, and proper, and like an angel of light....but there's an important piece of the puzzle that is missing! The goodness is of themselves and not of the Lord. They will soak in your compliments and praise, forgetting that it is God who made them and if there are gifts of the Spirit, they are His gifts and He gets the glory, honor and praise, we are simply His servants, and perhaps if we are very blessed: His friends.
How many deceivers are out there, wolves pretending to be sheep, doing a pretty convincing job of it too... however they will be outed, and if they are very blessed, they will receive the gift of true repentance and God's grace...but until then, we should avoid them, pray for them but do not join them thereby giving the impression that you agree with such things.
Here's a better way, rather than surrounding yourself with false friends:
1Pe 3:4-4 (KJV) But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands...
this was taken by me on one of our road trips so serene :)
On New Years Day I committed to reading the Bible every morning and evening....especially trying to do that first before anything else in my day, and the last thing I do at night. I've messed up a couple of times but on the whole it has been a successful endeavor.
I've noticed that no matter what happens throughout the day I am much more relaxed and in control in a good way. In control used to mean wrestling control back when I felt I had lost my hold of a situation. Now it is simply resting on the fact that I know God has this....and everything...and He really does know what He's doing...however previously I would have to work hard at keeping that understanding in mind, and now the difference is that it just is that way without me having to work that into my thinking processes.
Psalm 65:8b ...Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
and to those who do not regard Him:
Job 4:17-21 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening:
They perish for ever without any regarding it.
Doth not their excellency which is in them go away?
They die, even without wisdom.
As I get older I understand more and more deeply the wisdom of God's word to us...and it is meant for blessing and health in our bones and for that true peace that persists no matter what terrible things happen, because everything in this world is temporary and going away anyway. But the ones who are called of the Lord are with Him forever.
This life is topsy-turvey sometimes (often times?)...I've been posting about the gifts of the Spirit on my other blog, and it seems to me like the world is getting crazier and crazier...someone posted this on Facebook:
Interesting that when I first was saved it seemed my whole world turned upside-down and for a while I had a horrible time coping. One day I was doing a bit of gardening. The soil where I lived was hardened clay, it was as hard as concrete. I tried everything, soaking it for days on end, but I couldn't dig deeper than a few inches. The only things I could grow were my rosebushes and, well, weeds. Then, as the sweat poured from me, and covered in dirt, trying to get this little piece of ground to obey me, it dawned on me how upside-down everything is in this world is. The plants that are good and beautiful and for food, are so difficult to keep alive, and the brambles and weeds grow like, well, like weeds. It is just like we learn from the book of Genesis. The way the earth is isn't how God created this earth to be. It is upside-down and backwards.
After watching a few videos about how badly some (many?) people mangle the truth of God's word, which I post a little on at my Bible Treasures blog, I needed to get some air. It is such a beautiful day here, after all that snow and such a cold and long winter, it was good to get out for a stroll....
...just down the street...
...it almost seems like I can get away from it all....
...so close and yet so far away....
...it's hard to believe this is right by our home,
it almost seems like another world from another time...
...truly I am blessed to have such beautiful and quiet neighbors (trees) ...well, it's time to start supper :)
Today as I approached the entrance to the hospital where I work, I noticed a tiny bird crouched near the doorway; on the ground. I thought that surely it would fly away as I approached, however it remained there, even letting me touch it's wings and stroke the top of it's tiny head, and touch it's tiny beak. She looked up at me as if to say, "Isn't it a lovely day? ...and how are you today?" I thought perhaps it was injured or ill, and that someone might do something mean to it if I left it there, so I gently tried to scoop her up, and as I started to lift her off the ground she decided that our visit was over, and flew away.
She looked quite a lot like this except she had some burnt-orange color on her breast.
This little encounter set the mood for my day, and my first patient, a tiny old woman who seemed so fragile and gentle and trusting, reminded me of my little bird friend. I treated her very gently, and then let her go on her way after we were done with her exam and might never see her again, just as I may never again see that tiny bird. Such tiny encounters that we can easily overlook for their humble insignificance, and yet, if we would stop, and look, and touch, and feel, and receive the blessing, it didn't cost us anything but a few moments of our time, and all the money in the world could not purchase the sweetness of those moments. How often do I overlook them? Everyday....several hundred times a day. Thank you Lord for helping me to see this one, this time.
The last few weeks have been somewhat of a crisis period for me, in that I really had to stop, and think, and pray...
And the new perspective that I came out with is not really new, but it is more refined, having thrown out much of the superfluous junk that was bogging me down. What I mean is, even though I know that this world is full of horrible stuff, lying, conspiracies, evil people at the top, etc, etc, etc, it has always been that way from the beginning of this fallen creation, and it really doesn't do much good to keep dwelling on what is wrong with this world. I've known that all along, of course, and yet I still keep picking through the garbage. I still believe that it is good to be aware of my (our) surroundings, and to stay current with "the spirit of the age"...and yet, the greater focus always needs to be that Jesus has already overcome this world, and so have we if we are found in Christ.
If I do post on this (one of my two) blogs again (and I probably will, but maybe not as often as I was at it's inception) my goal is to have the main focus not be on the terrible things that we see all around us, but to stay on the finished work that we are in Christ, knowing that this world is passing away the evidence is too apparent to miss, and to report this fact with the happy news that this suffering will only last but a little while, and then the appearance of our true Savior will come and will shake the heavens and earth with the brightness of His appearing. We who are in Christ will rejoice, and those who reject Him will cry for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from His glory. The antichrist will first appear with his implantable 666 or what-have-you, and we who remain strong in the Lord won't fear death for rejecting his evil counterfeit plan to what God has done in marking His own with His seal on our foreheads and hands which only He sees. This seal secures us to be His through every trial and tribulation which won't touch our soul though it may kill our mortal flesh.
That has always been (since the Lord saved me) what I have known to be true, but my vision was a bit obscured by the wind and the waves which I allowed to take up too much of my perceptions. I pray that the Lord will keep our eyes wide open as we see all these things unfolding, and feel the strength of His hand upon us as we continue through this treacherous world which is fraught with much evil and danger, knowing that He who is with us is greater than those who are against us.
Let me just say right off the bat that I have a problem with keeping my mouth shut when it is probably best that I do. Is my saying something every time I feel the urge to do so really that important to God? Speaking the truth in love, even when it seems unloving to the world is certainly important and necessary, is it not? Yes, AND, however, the Lord also wants us to do so with wisdom and compassion and love with the eternal consequences ever before us.
A long while back, a friend in the Lord gave me this illustration to help me understand what I was doing wrong. He said:
Say you have a cat. This cat loves fresh salmon. One day you put down a dish of fresh, yummy salmon for your cat, and your cat decided, for whatever reason, that he wasn't hungry yet. You, on the other hand, decide that it is time for the cat to eat the salmon you have placed before him, and you want him to eat it NOW. So you take the cat by the scruff of the neck and start jamming this yummy salmon down the cat's throat. This cat might never want to eat salmon again, especially if it is coming from you.
Sigh. Wise words.
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Now having said that, I don't want to confuse the saying or not saying with something that is similar but ever so different. I also see this being done today, and it is just as wrong as saying things that need to be left to the Holy Spirit to convict the person of in His own time. What I mean is, it is also wrong to not say something because one wants to feign being "loving" but it comes out of a fear of losing the other person's affection. We are to speak the truth in love. That doesn't mean going on and on about something when the person stopped listening hours ago. It also doesn't mean not saying anything at all. It is somewhere in the middle. We need to have the wisdom to speak the truth in love, once, maybe twice AT MOST, and then leave it with the Lord to do His work in the life of that person, and just show that person how much you love him in the Lord.
Have I perfected this? No. It is still something the Lord is working with me on, to develop that wisdom of when to speak, and when to STOP IT and let Him do His work...this is difficult for me, extremely so. I go from one extreme (to go on and on about something) to the other (to not say anything at all, and do a "loving act" phoney as can be).
Thankfully, the Lord knows what to do with a few measly loaves and fishes (my feeble and much less than perfect offerings), and make them abound with His good nourishment for the soul. :)
Does Jesus truly set us free? Free from what? What does that mean?
The whole thing about Christmas being completely pagan and the need to "throw the baby Jesus out with the bath water" as it is being discussed on Look Up Fellowship, is making me look at this topic once again.
This situation reminds me of the story of how circus people train elephants to remain on a chain. A very young elephant is chained with a huge chain to a very large peg. He soon wearies himself trying to pull free from the chain. Eventually he resigns himself to the fact that he never will break free. Now the big chain can be replaced with a much smaller and weaker chain that will keep the elephant from breaking away, even though he has more than the needed strength to break free. When Jesus sets us free, we can be alot like that elephant that doesn't really believe that Jesus set us free. We still want to perform within the limitations that we have grown accustomed to. However, if my freedom causes weaker brethren and sisters to "sin" because they believe that living an extreme Puritan lifestyle is the only way Jesus will accept them, should I flaunt my freedom in their faces? The Apostle Paul said I shouldn't do that, but to have compassion for the weaker believers that feel that they must keep to rigid traditions (or a complete break with certain traditions) in order to keep themselves pure. I myself find I don't have to follow the traditions of my family, but can join with them and enjoy being with them in celebrations that I don't necessarily fully agree with, but do not feel condemned in being with them in the celebrating.
We are sanctified in Christ, by His blood, not by our doing or not doing, but "to them who think it is a sin, it is sin".... so should we cause them to sin by making them accept what they see as sin in us? The Apostle Paul said that was not a loving way to be towards others, so we should be mindful of their weak consciences.
But then does that mean I should conform to their way so that their mind can be appeased? If I know it isn't true, then am I not a hypocrite? Shouldn't I be honest about it?
The way I see it (maybe I'm wrong) is if I am in their home, I would respect their way, and eat their food (if it's a food issue), and respect them if they feel unable to come to my home because I do things they see as abominable and my food and drink or habits are intolerable for them, and then not chide them for their weakness, neither let them judge me (Colossians 2:16) because we have one judge, and we all stand before Him.
We serve one God, He is over all. If one who serves Him wants to serve by not doing something, then that is how he will serve God. If another serves God by doing that which another man finds offensive, it is not for him to judge how another man serves God, but to pay attention to his own walk before the Lord.
We will each have to give an account for our own actions, and according to the scriptures love (poured out to us through the blood of Christ) covers a multitude of sins. (Proverbs 10:12)
He gives us His peace.
Edited to add:
A very nice link that has lots of verses which have to do with the freedom we have in Jesus:
A few weeks before I began my summer classes I had stumbled across a website which involved the topic of suicide. Suicide came up a few times in my abnormal psychology course, and finding this website helped me to research this from an "insiders" view. I'm going to share this website here in this blog entry, but with the hope that anyone that follows the links from my site, will do so with respect for the family who was hurt deeply by what had happened. I know the few "regulars" who stop by here from time to time would not disrespect others, however, this information will be open to anyone and everyone who happens to stumble onto my site, just as easily as I find the various sites that I visit. Please, please, please, pay your respects respectfully.
My little excursion began when I found Dragonflies and Waterlilies. I read of a mother's cry for a son who couldn't bear to go on living. She gave a link to his online journal which ends on the day that he takes his own life. From his journal, I found this and this and some recipes that he enjoyed preparing for friends. I also found his dad's blog. I followed these links, and read and read and read, blog entries, comments, etc, to try to find out why... why such a nice young man who is bright and has parents who cherish him so much, would find life so painful and unbearable that he felt he had to take his life through suicide. Why?
I have come to my own conclusions about this, and anyone else who feels inclined to investigate into suicides will come to their own thoughts about it. I simply want to put it out there for others to ponder and pray about, and maybe it will help someone with some insight that might free someone else from the type of bondage and torment that this young man endured. I read the comments from his dad on his journal entries, and paid attention to how and who Mikael answered in his comment section. I read Mikael's thoughts about his mom, and of course, you won't get a full picture of all that went with the few comments on a blog, but they are pieces of a puzzle.
Something that Jred said, I mean quoted, recently seemed to strike me as another piece in this puzzle...and you may or may not agree that this might be at the root:
This law of the dying of self and the magnifying of Christ—is the secret of Christian peace. When Christ is small—and SELF is large—life cannot be deeply restful. Everything annoys us. We grow impatient of whatever breaks our comfort. We grieve over little trials. We find causes for discontent in merest trifles. We resent whatever would hinder or oppose us.
There is no blue sky in the picture, of which SELF is the center. There are no stars shining overhead. It begins and ends in a little patch of dusty floor, with gray walls surrounding it and shutting it in. But when SELF decreases—and Christ increases, then the picture is enlarged and takes in all of heaven’s over-arching beauty. Then the stars shine down into its night and sunshine bathes its day.
Then the life of friction and worry is changed into quietness and peace. When the glory of Christ streams over this little, cramped, fretted, broken life of ours—peace comes, and the love of Christ brightens every spot and sweetens all bitterness. Trials are easy to bear when self is small—and Christ is large.
This lesson has its very practical bearing on all our common, every-day life. Naturally we want to have our own way. We like to carry out our own plans and ambitions. We are apt to feel, too, that we have failed in life, when we cannot realize these hopes. This is the world’s standard. The successful worldling is the one who is able to master all life’s circumstances and make them serve him in his career. He is the man who "increases" until he fills a large place among men. The world has little praise or admiration for the man who "decreases" in his property, brilliance, power, or prosperity.
These days self esteem (or the lack of it) is lauded as the reason why people suffer the difficulties that we do. Is it really? Was Jesus and His word, the Bible, wrong? Jesus said we need to lay down our flesh, our "self esteem" and make our self worth based only on Jesus and His forgiveness and love. This world says we need to love ourselves first and then we can love our neighbors as ourselves, but the Bible says we need to love God first....who is right?
Last night I was pondering over some of these things, and I thought of how I often am guilty of praying "God give me this" or "Lord please help my friend pass her test".... forgetting the clause that Jesus added to His prayers, to say with really meaning it: "NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE"
Why do I pray for what I do? Why do I only want some of my friends to get the Lord's favors, and others to "get a lesson" that will set them straight? Is it to see that God's will is accomplished? Or mine? Who am I worshiping with that kind of prayer? My self esteem has no trouble exerting itself into my prayer time, so I don't think the lack of it is at the root of my trouble at all. If anything my self esteem is what gets in the way of truly loving and wanting what Jesus wants, especially if what Jesus wants would be things that would bring me pain and trouble in my flesh.
This creation is truly turned upside down. What we want to think is good for us might actually be our spiritual poison.
I would love to get more feedback and other insights that you may have into these things... I'm sure that I'm missing many pieces to this puzzle, perhaps a piece you may have in your hand...
Last week was the last week of my summer online classes. My last assignment for my sociology class asked for my thoughts on the political issues and healthcare issues that were discussed in our textbook. These are some of my thoughts as given in my last sociology assignment:
This week has been a difficult one for me because many things occurred this week that were turning points in my life, and they seemed to pivot on the lessons that touched on things with relevance to what I was going through... studying things like healthcare and politics and world situations with these heavy things on my heart really made me focus on these things with the temporariness of life in mind.
Although I am a conservative (probably closest to the Libertarian Party) I find that the textbook is slanted very much in the liberal leftist direction, so it made me a little testy to have to suffer through that bias. However, what I have concluded through all of this is that what it really comes down to is “Who is running this show anyway?” If the “powers that be” people are good and trustworthy, no matter what form of government we have would be good, if the leaders are good. The rest really is all a bunch of hoopla, just a sideshow to keep us all distracted. But if the leaders are bad and untrustworthy, no matter what kind of government we have in place, it still will be rotten.
And as far as healthcare goes, people want something for nothing, and truly there is no such thing. All the people with their hands out wanting freebees without wanting to pay for it will be in for a shock when we get the bill and see the kind of poor service we will endure for a hefty price tag. The saying goes “You get what you pay for”, and that is exactly what the government is going to give, close to nothing, because their story is that it's going to cost next to nothing because it is our money, not theirs, that will be footing the bill.
In their minds we are getting off cheap, so what we will get will be cheap. Thinking about the health problems that my family is going through right now, and the temporariness of life.... makes these thoughts hit me very close to home.
Thank you, Professor B., for this class. Although much of it ran against my ethics and values, I still came away with a richer and deeper perspective on these things, and what it really all boils down to for me is that if the “powers that be” and the general population are good and moral and ethical, all of these things will work together for a good outcome no matter how they decide to structure it. Time will tell how truly good our leaders and their followers really are.
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And, truly as an addendum to the above, I want to also state that in the final end, we do have Someone that is over all the powers of this world, so no matter how good (well, they are "only human" after all) or bad, God has promised us Romans 8:28, that is my anchor, and after all the hurricanes and disasters of this world pass away, it is God who will have sustained those who are His, through it all.
I'm taking two classes, and having an interesting experience in both. One of them I've already posted on, the abnormal psychology class. Today I'm posting about my other class, the sociology (uh-oh) class. There have been red flags (as you can imagine) all over the stuff that I'm reading in the textbook, although it is at the same time fascinating.
This week, one of the topics involves U.S. policies regarding the Middle East.
Here is what I posted there on the topic, with a couple of interesting links:
I found a couple of interesting articles in regard to our foreign oil consumption and how it effects us as well as the Middle East and our relationships. One is the Jewish Virtual Library:
They give us the perspective of how our U.S. policies with the Arab nations effect Israel and our U.S. relationship with Israel. They also give some information on other countries as sources for U.S. oil imports. There is another article that I found that has multinational contributors to this foundation, which I believe to be affiliated with the U.N. somehow (I cannot confirm it from their website, it just has that kind of "feel" to it):
I am not a big fan of the U.N. but I understand that is the way we are headed, and the U.S. will lose it's sovereign status. It already has, actually, and the U.S. Constitution has not been the solid basis of our governing policies for, well, since before the Bushes, however, we still pretend that it is in place, just as we pretend alot of things that we'd rather not know the real truth about. I'm a Christian, so I'm observing this more like watching a movie from an outsider's perspective on this whole thing. Sometimes some of the things I see happening in this world scares me, but I don't put my whole needs and desires to depend on the government, or governments, of this world.
I understand the arguments pro and con for going for alternative fuels, and the wars that have been fought in the Middle East, and having it said that it is all about establishing democracy there. I don't believe the arguments, and I don't support the actions. I'm just observing them, and praying for Jesus to come quickly to set it straight, because there really isn't any other way that is more than a band aid solution with bad consequences any way we turn.
But why did I choose that for my blog title (you might ask)?
I chose Flutterbys because it brings to mind the fleeting and fragile quality of life. We are here in our mortality for only seeming moments when compared with all of eternity. The Apostle James put it like this:
Jam 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
I also chose that word to denote the fleeting quality of my thoughts. What are thoughts? They come and go, and they can change with the seasons. And what remains is the truth, what God has said from the beginning, and nothing I do or say can add to it, or subtract from it. If anything of what I say or do remains and brings glory to God, it is because He can place an enduring quality to my fleeting missives...and if He chooses to do so, the praise belongs only to Him, and I was just a messenger of His precious and enduring flame.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels (messengers) he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
To the fleetingness of life, and the temporariness of all that we experience here, whether good or bad, and reflections on what I see; current events, and other points of interest); topics on "the wind and the waves" in life, and "the quiet in the eye of the storm" when we are in Christ Jesus, is what I devote my musings to here...a devotional that I submit for others to be able to view, and comment on if you wish.
Flutter by now and then, add your thoughts and join in the conversation. And in all things (seemingly good and seemingly bad) give thanks to the Father, without whom we would not even have this mortal existence.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
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